Weibo users report that defense witnesses are being watched and individuals—not clear whether it is police or others—are stationed outside of their residences, restricting their movement. Acquaintances who try to visit these witnesses have been taken or turned away. At least four people who tried to approach the court this morning have been taken away. Dozens of supporters are near the court. Police have erected barriers on the road leading to the Yushui District Court. There are about 100 police in the area surrounding the court, most of whom were in plain clothes. Another user reports that Internet access around the court has been blocked and people could only make phone calls:

According to sources close to Liu Xizhen, one of the defendant witnesses, she was detained for over 10 hours and was released in the evening. She was taken around 8:00 a.m. or so to the Zhushan police station in Xinyu and was kept at the office of the security section, while personnel from the steel factory in Xinyu guarded her. Other supporters were detained at the Zhushan police station, two of whom have been released while the whereabouts of at least two others are unknown:

Liu Ping's initial lawyer, Zhang Xuezhong, was in Xinyu to attend the trial but he was not allowed to enter courtroom, so he left:

张雪忠：作为刘女士的原辩护人，我本想旁听此案的第二次庭审，但却不被法院允许。我只能抱憾离开新余，前往上饶老家去看看父母。

Just before 4:00 p.m. today, Liu Ping's family's Weibo account states that the family and the lawyers will fight to have the court allow observers and reporters. It calls for solidarity to oppose secret trials:

刘萍家属明天我们和律师会争取旁听人员和记者前来旁听！！这是一场持久战！请大家一同和我们呼吁杜绝秘密审判！15:58

Lawyer Yang Xuelin says the court only gave two observer passes to each family, erected five layers of barricades outside the court, and imposed security inspection that required people to take off their shoes when entering the court room. There were only six family members of the defendants while the identity of the rest of the people in the court room remains unknown:

At 4:20 p.m., lawyer Si Weijiang reports in a Weibo post that all three defendants plead not guilty during the morning session. In the afternoon session, defense lawyers asked the court to explain how it decides on who can observe the trial, considering that the observers in the court today are almost exactly the same people who observed the first trial, even sitting in almost exactly the same seats. They argue that this amounts to a de facto secret trial. The court adjourned several times but failed to give an explanation. At 3:00 p.m. or so, the court adjourned for a fourth time and announced the trial would resume at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow:

Liu Ping's family accuses the presiding judge of lying to their face by stating that the court has already given a notice to the family on the reasons for rejecting their application for bail and that there is written record of having done so. The family denies having ever received such a notice or an explanation for the rejection:

Lawyer Si Weijiang says on his Weibo that the indictment accuses “Liu Ping, Wei Zhongping, and Li Sihua of expressing dissatisfaction at and attacking the current social system and normal judicial activities in China.” Defense lawyers seized this point and argued that expressing dissatisfaction at the current social system is not prohibited: